The 2008 Power List

There's no biz like show biz: The Top 50 movers, shakers, heart-breakers in the mercurial world of autodom

Power list to powerless: Anybody see Bernhard lately?Flavio Briatore: Beat Ferrari with back-to-back Formula 1 championships for Renault and Fernando Alonso in 2005 and '06. Then Alonso moved to McLaren-Mercedes, and Briatore's Renault F1 dropped to the middle-back of the pack.2007 Rank: 20Mark Fields:Ford's president for the Americas pitched a vague "Way Forward" before Mulally parachuted to the rescue. Fields rose up the ladder after getting credit for rebuilding Mazda and revitalizing the Premier Automotive Group. Presence of Mulally and Jim Farley (No. 34) has diminished Field's influence.2007 Rank: 22Hau-Thai Tang: Ford's amiable, urbane director of product development for South American operations was running SVT until management kneecapped the performance division. He's learning production operations in Brazil while Ford promotes Derrick Kusak as its Bob Lutz. We're waiting for Tang's return to Dearborn.2007 Rank: 23Bryan Nesbitt: Bob Lutz brought him to GM after Nesbitt led Chrysler PT Cruiser design. Nesbitt moved to Europe after a short stint in the U.S. Now he's in charge of North American design, but it's too early to judge work. Word is his next European midsize design is good enough to bring him back on the list, with a bullet.2007 Rank: 24Anne Assensio: GM's ex-director of advanced design left Detroit abruptly last year to return to her native France. She was credited for leading design of the Buick Centieme (Enclave) and Velite, Hummer H3T, and Cadillac Sixteen's interior. It appears her coworkers didn't hold a going away party for her until she went away. 2007 Rank: 36Carroll Shelby: The sharpest good ol' boy in overalls rode a wave of Shelby-inspired Ford products and concepts recently, but was pretty much relegated to endorsing fuel additives last year. And Carroll Shelby Licensing ended its agreement with Unique Performance to remanufacture 1960s Shelby Mustangs following allegations that Unique "washed" vehicle identification numbers on classic cars. 2007 Rank: 39William Clay Ford Jr.: Still Ford Motor Company chairman, and still proving that nepotism isn't the best way to choose a leader. Mulally has so thoroughly reorganized Ford that all William Clay can do is sit back and wait for his hire to save the automaker.2007 Rank: 45Mong-Koo Chung:Hyundai's chairman has been known to intervene in the design of such cars as the Sonata. Last year, he was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to three years in prison. Later he got his prison sentence suspended after he agreed to donate one-trillion won ($1.09 billion!) to charity.2007 Rank: 47Craig Jackson: Still runs the biggest classic car auction in the nation, but has scaled back this year's event 20 percent, citing "too much mud" last year. Plus, a private equity firm has taken a minority stake in B-J. Not to mention Jackson allegedly ejecting Keith Martin from the auction after Martin said musclecar values have peaked.2007 Rank: 49Chip Foose: The hot-rod designer also has pulled his contracts with Unique Automotive. His "Overhaulin" show on TLC is still one of about 50 reality shows about slamming old cars, though.2007 Rank: 50